Sex, Congressmen and $17 Million in our Tax Dollars

Did you know that your government has paid out over $17 million in your tax dollars since 1997 to cover up sex scandals and workplace settlements by your elected congressmen and their employees?

Did you know that was where some of your hard earn money was going to? Interesting that our “news” media never uncovered that, possibly because they did not want their own behavior being uncovered or they simply looked the other way.

That $17 million is more than likely on the low end. For example you may have heard recently of Michigan’s own Congressmen John Conyers (D – Detroit) who apparently settled a sexual misconduct charge by one of his employees from money out of his own office budget, that sexual misconduct settlement is not included in the $17 million dollar total.

It is being reported that this $17 million dollar slush fund includes’ more than just sexual assault and harassment claims. The Office of Compliance, which pays out the settlements, does not release information in which the cases are broken down by category or settlement. The Office of Compliance has stated that the settlements come also are from Hill employers other than the House and Senate.

Why do we have a slush fund for these settlements and why do they not release information about these payouts?

Due to the fact that our congress is not transparent about these payouts we, the paying public, have no idea which congressmen have had these claims made against them and settlements that arise from them.

Now the question is who approves these payouts. Well it is the top Republican and Democrat on the House Administration Committee who approve these workplace dispute settlements for that chamber before they are paid from the compliance office's fund. It appears it was a bipartisan cover-up, interesting that we find out that the Republicans and Democrats can work together on some issues. Congress allocates these tax dollars every year in their annual legislative branch spending bill.

Apparently the compliance office does not require nondisclosure agreements, though parties to a settlement can choose to impose them and apparently have.

The question remains why does the taxpaying public have to pay for the settlements that arise from sexual assaults or misconduct by any of these government employees’?

We should not have to pay for the criminal behavior of our elected officials or government employees, they should have to pay for them out of their own pockets not ours, wouldn’t you agree.

When President Trump talks about draining the swamp, these types of actions are certainly indicative of that.

Do you trust Congress to police themselves and be transparent about it, I do not.